Chapter Seventy-Two: The Method of Uniting Golden Sand and Yellow Sprout for Harmonious Transmutation

The pitch-black lotus bloomed, swallowing Li Du whole. With his cultivation only at the late stage of Qi Refining, Li Du stood no chance against Liu Ruyi’s methods. With barely a moment’s exchange, he fell right into her trap. The dark demonic lotus was not yet fully open. Within the lotus, Li Du’s expression remained serene, neither joyful nor sorrowful. No matter how the external illusions tried to disturb him, he remained unmoved and at ease.

“Hm?” Liu Ruyi’s elegant brows knitted, a hint of surprise flickering in her heart. The blooming of the demonic lotus was not merely a matter of superior cultivation; it succeeded only if the target’s inner resolve faltered, allowing the demon seed to take root, absorb the Dao heart, and grow. Liu Ruyi had spoken those words earlier precisely to provoke Li Du, hoping to create a crack in his heart. Unexpectedly, his Dao heart was steadfast beyond measure.

“I wonder how long you can endure,” Liu Ruyi’s eyes flashed coldly. She was determined to break through to the Foundation of the Dao, and Li Du was indispensable. Even if she sowed seeds in ten, a hundred, or a thousand others, none could compare to Li Du alone.

Though a century had passed since those days, the memory remained vivid in Liu Ruyi’s heart. The two had grown up together, childhood companions, regarded by all as a pair of celestial lovers. After entering the sect, Li Du had always supported her, attentive in every way. Later events, Liu Ruyi believed she had acted rightly. The impact Li Du had on her was profound—without him, she would not be who she was. She had merely seized the opportunity to attain the Dao, making the most correct choice. Otherwise, she would forever live in the shadow of Li Du’s towering presence.

…

Within the residence, a Daoist sat cross-legged before a plot of spiritual land. Fish-dragons swam joyfully across the soil before him. Lu Qian kept his eyes tightly shut, visualizing the Diagram of the Flood Dragon Lurking in the Yellow Springs, imagining himself transformed into a dragon. Soaring through heaven and earth, inhaling and exhaling vital energy, plundering the essence of all things.

In that moment, Lu Qian truly felt himself become a fish-dragon. No true water condensed in the diagram now; after achieving mastery in Qi Refining, all vital energy had transformed into Yin Sun True Water. Once entering the state, the circulation of true water quickened. Filaments of dark mist curled around him, moisture thick in the air. Yin aura and water vapor entwined, rendering the Daoist’s figure hazy, like a dragon weaving clouds and summoning rain.

After a long while, Lu Qian slowly opened his eyes, a flash of golden light glinting within. A surge of greedy, dragon-like desire rose in his heart. He silently recited the Threefold Purity Heart Mantra, suppressing the dragon nature within.

“Phew! Dragon nature is hard to change. Even after refining the body, I’ll still be affected. Thank goodness for the Heart Mantra,” Lu Qian mused.

After days of cultivation, the Threefold Purity Heart Mantra was nearly mastered. Thus, he used it freely, a single thought bringing him to a state of perfect tranquility. With meditation and Qi Refining complete, it was time to refine pills.

The pill chamber.

Inside stood a great cauldron, three-legged and twin-handled. Nearby lay assorted boxes, their contents exuding faint medicinal aromas. Lu Qian sat before the pill cauldron. After a bout of breathing exercises, he suddenly opened his eyes. Drawing talismans in his hand, a flicker of light flashed and vanished as the talisman struck the cauldron.

Whoosh!

Pure white ghostly flame burst forth. The temperature soared by several dozen degrees, the air shimmering with heat. Next, from the Bag of Heaven, he produced a ritual sword crafted earlier from jujube wood, suspending it above the cauldron.

The Treatise on External Alchemy says: “If evil qi enters, the medicine cannot form.” Thus, when opening the furnace to refine pills, one must first burn talismans and hang the precious sword to ward off external evils.

“The time is ripe!”

With the fire at proper intensity, Lu Qian waved his sleeve, opening several boxes. Materials flew up and entered the cauldron: three ounces of arsenic, a drop of ghost’s tears, two drops of spirit fox blood, a blossom of human-faced peach, one ounce of purple placenta. The ingredients entered the furnace and were consumed by the ghostly flame. Countless vengeful souls wailed and screamed, blue vapors forming a twisted human face that lunged for the yin souls.

Hiss!

The sword atop the cauldron glowed red, cleaving the twisted ghost face. With the heat sufficient, the contents turned to a turbid liquid. These were mere auxiliary ingredients; now came the main act.

Another wave of his sleeve.

White lead and silver mercury flew from the boxes into the cauldron. Gold, silver, lead, mercury, jade, copper, and tin are revered in alchemy as the essence of heaven and earth, formed by the union of yin and yang. Because their “form is stubborn, their nature sluggish,” they must be tempered with fire and aided by auxiliary drugs to refine their essence.

The mastery of heat and material refinement in pill-making is exceptionally difficult; a moment’s difference can alter everything, making pill-refining ten times more challenging than ordinary medicine. Lu Qian was not making pills now, but merely refining two ingredients for the Blood Seal Dao Soldier Pill—Yellow Elixir and White Powder.

The Treatise on External Alchemy says: “Boil lead for yellow elixir, refine mercury for white powder; employ the method of uniting gold sand and yellow sprouts, merging and tempering.” The ingredients, techniques, and timing Lu Qian used followed this method.

Next, he placed the lid atop the cauldron, sitting before it to control the heat. Flickering light played across his face, shifting between shadow and brightness.

After a long time, black smoke billowed from the cauldron, accompanied by a pungent burnt odor.

Lu Qian frowned and opened the lid. Inside lay a mass of charred powder, with flecks of yellow and red powder mixed in. He extracted the yellow and red powders.

“Eight ounces yield but half a coin’s worth. My proficiency is still too low, but I’ll treat this as practice.” On the golden mirror in his sea of consciousness, the progress bar for External Alchemy lit up another mark.

External Alchemy (Beginner: 15/100)

“The limit is too low; at the entry stage I can only purify ingredients, at least at minor or major mastery can I begin to make basic pills,” Lu Qian thought to himself. Low yield was due to lack of skill and ordinary cultivation, making his control of the heat unstable and slow. It was both a matter of internal energy and technique.

“There’s no cave residence here. If my theory on ‘Yin-Yang Unified Energy Gathering True Water’ works, cultivation speed should be faster than in a cave.” Lu Qian’s eyes sparkled, and before he realized it, night had fallen.

…

Lu Qian stood before a bronze mirror as tall as a man. Behind him, two sisters were straightening his Daoist robes, draping him in a black cloak. Reflected in the mirror was a twenty-year-old man, pale-faced, dark-eyed, exuding an aura of gloom.

Lu Qian looked at Yao Yue and asked, “Have the people I asked Black Eagle to arrange arrived?”

“They’ll be delivered to the basement tomorrow,” Yao Yue replied softly, her head lowered. Since she was indoors, she did not wear heavy formal attire. The light white gauze faintly revealed her delicate, snow-white figure.

“Have you memorized the Yin-Yang Unified Energy chapter?” Lu Qian’s hand rested on Yao Yue’s cold cheek.

“Your servant has memorized it all,” Yao Yue replied, seeming to accept her fate, her head lowered in shy submission.

“What about Xi Yue?”

“I… still lack a little,” Xi Yue parted her red lips, about to say something, but upon meeting her sister’s gaze—cold and warning—she quickly changed her words.

“Master, Xi Yue was never a scholar from childhood. I’ll be sure to supervise her closely,” Yao Yue said with a gentle laugh, covering her mouth.

Xi Yue lowered her head, not daring to retort. Since childhood, everything had to be Yao Yue first, then Xi Yue. Others always praised Yao Yue for her intelligence, though Xi Yue was truly the smartest. In reading, Xi Yue had a photographic memory, and in truth, she had memorized it long ago.

“Haha! No rush,” Lu Qian laughed, pondering something in his heart.

Yao Yue stepped lightly, reclining on the wooden bed. The gauze slipped away, and under the crimson coverlet, her body gleamed as white as the moon.